10 Types of Email Marketing for Restaurants (with Examples)

Restaurant email marketing is the practice of sending targeted promotional messages, updates, and offers to customers via email to drive repeat visits and increase revenue. It’s one of the most cost-effective tools a restaurant can use to build loyalty, announce promotions, and stay top of mind between visits.

The challenge is making those emails feel relevant, not random. Guests are more likely to pay attention when messages reflect what they care about, like rewards, limited-time offers, new menu items, or events.

An integrated email marketing platform like Toast can help restaurants send targeted promotions using guest data and measure performance without needing a dedicated marketing team. But the best results still start with the fundamentals: knowing what kinds of emails to send, and what makes guests want to open them and order.

In this guide, we’ll cover when restaurant email marketing makes sense, the types of emails restaurants can send, and real examples from major brands.

Key takeaways

• Restaurant email marketing works best when messages are timely, relevant, and tied to real guest behavior.

• Restaurants can use email to promote offers, loyalty rewards, new menu items, events, app ordering, and seasonal campaigns.

• Strong restaurant emails usually have one clear job, one clear message, and an easy next step for guests.

• Email marketing can help restaurants drive repeat visits, online orders, loyalty signups, and stronger guest relationships.

Should your restaurant use email marketing?

Most restaurants can benefit from email marketing because it gives you a direct way to reach guests with timely, relevant messages. But the key is relevance. As QSR Magazine put it:

“When you have permission to communicate with someone several times a week, the cost of being irrelevant goes up.” 

That’s why restaurant email marketing works best when it’s tied to real guest behavior, like rewards activity, online orders, menu preferences, birthdays, events, and visit history. Email marketing can help restaurants:

• Bring guests back: Send loyalty offers, limited-time deals, birthday rewards, and re-engagement emails to encourage repeat visits.

• Promote new menu items: Announce seasonal dishes, LTOs, chef specials, catering packages, and returning fan favorites.

• Drive online ordering: Link directly to your ordering page, app, reservation page, catering menu, or rewards signup.

• Build stronger guest relationships: Share updates, events, behind-the-scenes stories, and personalized offers.

• Own more customer data: Stay connected through an owned channel instead of relying entirely on social media or third-party platforms.

• Support slower periods: Send targeted weekday, lunch, happy hour, or off-peak offers when you need to drive demand.

• Measure what works: Track opens, clicks, redemptions, orders, and revenue so you can keep improving campaigns over time.

10 types of restaurant marketing emails with examples

Restaurant email marketing works best when each message has a clear job. Some emails welcome new subscribers, while others promote limited-time offers, loyalty rewards, or app ordering.

1. Welcome or signup email

A welcome email is often the first message a guest receives after joining your list or loyalty program. It should make the next step clear and give subscribers a reason to stay engaged.

For example, Taco Bell used a rewards signup email with the subject line “Points just for saying ‘I’m in.’” The email told customers to “Sign up for Rewards and get 100 bonus points,” giving new members an immediate incentive to join and order.

• Why it works: The value exchange is simple. Customers share their email, join Rewards, and get something useful right away.

2. Gamified email

Gamified emails use a game, challenge, quiz, or interactive mechanic to make the promotion feel more engaging.

Domino’s used this approach with its “Score great deals when you play Soccer Shootout”⁠ email. The preheader asked, “Can you shoot the toppings at the target?” and the email directed customers to the Domino’s app to play for a chance to win bonus points or a deal.

• Why it works: Instead of sending a standard discount, Domino’s created an app-based interaction that connected rewards, entertainment, and ordering.

3. Interactive promotional email

Interactive promotional emails use curiosity or participation to get guests interested in a product or offer.

Buffalo Wild Wings sent an email with the subject line “Scratch to reveal the NEW Around the World Dip Flight.”⁠ The message teased a “limited-time sauce experience” for customers watching matches.

• Why it works: The scratch-to-reveal framing creates curiosity, while the matchday connection gives customers a specific reason to try the product.

4. Holiday or weekend promotion email

Holiday emails connect an offer to a moment when customers may already be planning meals, parties, or takeout.

Pizza Hut used this strategy with a Memorial Weekend email promoting “40% Off Large Pizzas This Weekend.”⁠ The preheader read, “Memorial Weekend plans? We’ve got the pizza,” and the offer was online-only with a clear end date.

• Why it works: The email gives customers a timely reason to order and makes the promotion easy to understand.

5. Loyalty points promotion email

Loyalty emails can do more than remind customers they have points. They can also steer guests toward specific menu items or ordering windows.

QDOBA sent a “2X points on shrimp — all week long”⁠ email with the preheader “Order shrimp and watch the points add up.” The message promoted bonus points on Citrus Lime Shrimp or Surf & Turf purchases during a specific week.

• Why it works: The email connects a loyalty incentive to a clear menu action, helping drive both repeat visits and product trial.

6. New or returning menu item email

Menu emails are useful when restaurants launch a new item, bring back a fan favorite, or want to spotlight a limited-time menu.

Shake Shack’s “Korean Style Menu is back!”⁠ email promoted the return of its Korean Style Menu, including the K-Shack Fried Chicken Sandwich, K-Shack BBQ Burger, and new additions.

• Why it works: The email gives existing fans a reason to return while making the featured items specific enough for new customers to understand.

7. Seasonal menu email

Seasonal emails help restaurants connect menu items to a time of year, flavor trend, or limited-time occasion.

Milk Bar used a summer-focused email with the subject line “Two new treats for summer.”⁠ The message introduced Cherry Cola Pie and Strawberry & Corn Truffles, describing them as available “for summer only.”

• Why it works: The products feel timely and specific, and the seasonal framing creates urgency without relying only on a discount.

8. App or digital ordering promotion email

App-focused emails encourage customers to order through owned digital channels instead of third-party platforms.

McDonald’s UK sent an email with the subject line “You’ve got 15% off the WHOLE MENU.”⁠ The message directed customers to download the app, join MyMcDonald’s Rewards, and spend £10 on food and drink.

• Why it works: A broad discount lowers friction, while the redemption path supports app adoption and rewards enrollment.

9. Value or deal email

Value emails highlight a simple discount, bundle, or offer that is easy for customers to understand quickly.

Domino’s used this approach with its “It’s baaaack Order our Best Deal Ever”⁠ email. The preheader promised “Any pizza, any toppings,” and the email explained that customers could build a pizza with up to seven toppings.

• Why it works: The message is direct, flexible, and centered on value. Customers know what they’re getting without needing to decode the offer.

10. Occasion or group ordering email

Occasion-based emails frame ordering around a specific need, like family dinner, game day, birthdays, holidays, or group gatherings.

QDOBA sent an email promoting “$5 Off the Create Your Own QDOBA Kit?”⁠ with the preheader “A deal to celebrate Father’s Day, soccer or both.”

• Why it works: The email gives customers a concrete reason to order and positions the product as a solution for shared meals or events.

How to get real results with Toast email marketing

Email marketing can sound complicated, especially when so many guides focus on segmentation, automation, personalization, reporting, and campaign analysis. Those things matter, but restaurants don’t need to make email marketing confusing to make it effective.

The goal is simple: send the right message to the right guests at the right time. That might mean welcoming new loyalty members, promoting a seasonal menu item, bringing guests back with a targeted offer, or turning slower days into ordering opportunities.

Toast Marketing can help restaurants simplify email campaigns, send targeted promotions, and connect marketing efforts to guest data and ordering behavior. Toast IQ can also help operators turn restaurant data into faster insights, so teams can spot opportunities and take action without digging through reports manually.

With the right tools, your restaurant marketing plan becomes less about guessing what to send and more about building stronger guest relationships.

FAQs about restaurant email marketing

What is Toast Email Marketing?

Toast Email Marketing is an email marketing tool that integrates directly with your Toast point of sale system, designed to help restaurant operators stay in touch with guests and increase repeat visits.

Does Toast Email Marketing connect to my POS?

Yes. Toast Email Marketing integrates directly with your Toast POS, so your guest data from the point of sale informs your email marketing without requiring a separate integration.

What results have Toast Email Marketing customers seen?

Toast customers using the full Marketing Suite (which includes Email Marketing) saw 63% more sales than those without it.*

How much can an email campaign increase sales?

On average, restaurants using Toast Email Marketing saw approximately $2,800 in additional sales in the 14 days following an email. 

What is the average email open rate with Toast Email Marketing?

The average open rate for emails sent via Toast Email Marketing is approximately 39%.***

*Based on restaurant performance data from Q3 and Q4 of 2021. Individual results will vary 

**Based on past performance of restaurants using Toast Email Marketing in Q3 and Q4 of 2021. The $2,800 represents average increase in sales in the 14 days following an email sent via Toast Email Marketing.

***The average open rate for emails sent via Toast Email Marketing is approximately 39%. Individual results will vary.